Waterbender on Wheels
by Casa Circe
Summary: ZUTARA WEEK 2014 Day Three: Motorcycle. If someone had told her a week ago that she would be racing down the streets of Ba Sing Se on a stolen vehicle with an exiled Fire Nation prince around her waist while trying to escape evil earthbenders, Katara would have never have believed it. But Destiny is a funny thing.


**ZUTARA WEEK 2014, Day 3: MOTORCYCLE**

_**Waterbender on Wheels**_

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Avatar: the Last Airbender **_**and **_**The Legend of Korra **_**belong to Bryke, but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians. I write in the context where neither Kataang nor Maiko happened.**

**NOTE: At first I had some problems with this prompt because it almost led to either some kind of AU or setting it in Korra. But I really wanted to set it in AtLA and I somehow managed to find something for it.**

**This is set sometime during Book 2 before either of them gets thrown into the Crystal Catacombs. Ba Sing Se is my favorite setting for stories because it is so full of secrets and intrigue that anything is possible. And given the way the story is progressing in Korra, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that Long Feng and the Dai Li were developing secret technologies related to weaponry and transport so in my head, they built the first motorcycle in the Four Nations. And Katara just happened to find it.**

**I took a bit of dialogue from "Thor: The Dark World" because it fit the situation so perfectly and I couldn't resist. I also had "Driver's High" by L'arc-en-ciel playing on loop while writing this because it is the perfect song for this prompt.**

**I also love the idea of Katara saving Zuko (and not just in the healing way) but doing something adventurous and active. And Zuko completely doesn't mind having a strong, competent person saving him.**

**Hope you like it!**

If someone had told her a week ago that she would be racing down the streets of Ba Sing Se on a stolen vehicle with an exiled Fire Nation prince around her waist while trying to escape evil earthbenders, Katara would have never have believed it.

"And yet, here we are," the waterbender managed to muse as she maneuvered the narrow streets of the walled city, making a sharp turn down an alley just in the nick of time.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" her passenger yelled nervously.

"What does it look like to you?" she yelled back as she just missed crashing into a cabbage stall. The merchant looked infinitely relieved though he still shook his fists at them as they sped away.

Instinctively, Zuko tightened his hold on Katara and the waterbender had to summon all her powers of concentration to focus on driving. She likewise convinced herself that the increase in her heart rate was merely due to the adrenalin rush of this whole escapade.

It was distracting enough having him so close to her but she didn't want to let him know that his presence had any effect on her whatsoever. He didn't need to know that the whole time she was keenly aware of his arms around her waist and though she knew that this was necessary given their current setup, she could not help but feel a slight thrill and that vexed her to no end.

It was a chilly night and they were both glad for the warmth of their companion though neither would ever admit it. Katara barely felt the cold at all and she wondered if firebenders had warmer bodies than everyone else. The thought made her blush and she shook her head and will herself to focus.

"I thought you said you knew how to drive this thing!" Zuko protested as they drove through bumpy, cobblestoned streets.

"Actually, my exact words were 'how hard could it be?" Katara admitted rather sheepishly.

Zuko groaned in response.

"Well, if you think you can do better, you're welcome to have a go at it," Katara suggested in annoyance.

"No, thanks," the firebender answered honestly, "I'm not sure I could do any better, "all this Dai Li secret technology is beyond me. How did you find this thing anyway?

"I infiltrated the Dai Li secret headquarters to find out what they were up to," Katara explained, "and as they chased me, I stumbled upon an old store room for experimental prototypes. Luckily, this seemed to be the only one of its kind."

And it was as she was making her escape that she had found him, battered and bruised, fighting alone against a whole troop of Dai Li agents.

"Uncle and I are trying to start a new life here!" he had argued, "We mean no harm to anyone. I'm not even chasing the Avatar anymore!"

But the Dai Li seemed unimpressed. Several of them said something about needing Zuko to collect the considerable bounty on his head.

His words had, however, reached someone more important. Katara had always known him to be the enemy but seeing him thus and hearing his claims had made her pause in her own flight. For some inexplicable reason, she believed him. She was still confused but realized that she did not have a lot of time to decide. All she knew was that she could not let this opportunity go to waste and that she would regret it if she did nothing.

So she made a snap judgment and attacked the Dai Li agents with what little water she had left, taking them all by surprise. She parked the strange, fast vehicle in front of the stunned firebender, reached out her hand and said: "Get on, we're leaving!"

He had stared at her in shock but only for a moment. He had realized that unusual and unexpected though this whole thing was, it was his best chance of escape. They would figure everything out later.

So far, luck had been on their side. They had managed to overtake most of their captors but Katara could already feel their pace slacken, even though she had finally gotten the hang of driving the strange machine.

Speed had been their greatest advantage since the machine made so much noise that they were practically announcing their location to anyone within earshot. But now, they both felt the machine slow down slightly and they had no idea what kind of fuel was needed to sustain it.

"I have an idea," Zuko declared and he explained his plan to Katara. She nodded and stopped the vehicle momentarily. They didn't have a lot of other options and it seemed sensible enough.

Zuko shifted his position until he was back to back with Katara. He rubbed his hands together in preparation.

"Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," Katara replied with a smile as she put her foot on the pedal and restarted the engine.

With one swift movement, Zuko unleashed a powerful blast of fire, giving them just the boost they needed to move forward at amazing speed.

Katara could not help but give a triumphant whoop as they zoomed forward faster than either of them had even anticipated. Zuko smirked as he continued to send blasts of fire, careful not to cause too much damage while Katara steered them in the right direction.

At this rate, they would both reach Aang and the others before any of the Dai Li could catch up to them. There would be a lot of explaining to do but that didn't bother Katara so much. In fact, she was looking forward to whatever interesting developments would follow this strange adventure. And though she couldn't explain it, she knew that Zuko was thinking the same thing.

It seemed like ages ago that she had been escaping _from_ him and now here she was, escaping _with_ him. Destiny certainly had a sense of humor but Katara somehow enjoyed it.


End file.
